2017-10-27
Good Morning Dear Ones,
I am commanded to continue writing about word studies. It might seem like too much detail, but there is a good reason for doing this. The meanings of language change with the times, and it’s important for us to know exactly what the human scribes of the Bible meant at the time. Here’s an example. When I was little, the word ”gay” meant merry, cheerful. Now, of course, it means something entirely different. The KJV uses the word rudimentary from the Greek word, stoicheia, meaning a heavenly body, an element, elementary, a basic component in the context of one’s religious training, the basics of indoctrination before Christ, rudiments of the world. Rudimentary has a Strong’s number of 4747.
The next word is fullness,as in COL 2: 9-10, “For the full content of divine nature lives in Christ in His humanity, and you have been given full life in union with Him.” This word is derived from the Greek word, pleroma, Strong’s number 4138. It means completion, a filling up, fulfilment, complete. The verbal form is from the Greek word, pepleromenoi, with a Strong’s number of 4137, meaning to complete, to fill up, to fulfill.
We can now move on to the word, circumcision, as used in COL 2: 11, “In union with Christ you were circumcised, not with the circumcision that is made by human beings, but with the circumcision made by Christ, which consists of being freed from the power of the sinful self.” The meaning of this divinely carried out circumcision is so much more than the humanly-crafted act of removing the foreskin of the male penis. As given in this citation, it not only sets apart a male into the set of all believers in Christ, but females as well. It is a divinely-inspired change of one’s heart-attitude, as well as acceptance into the subset of all humans who are believers in Christ. The word, circumcision, as used here has a Strong’s number of 4061. It is from the Greek word, peritome. This is a very key issue, because Christ’s Atonement removed us from the legalism of the law and put us living with the true spirit meant by God for the written code, which is the way of the Spirit [RO 7: 6; COL 2: 13-15]. When our hearts are circumcised divinely, we no longer see the devil as being more powerful than God; we are justified (deemed acceptable to God), saved, and eternally forgiven. We no longer feel obligated to be a victim of harsh, human-crafted rules and regulations, no longer practice false humility, and are no longer disconnected from the wealth of wisdom Christ gives us [JN 15: 5]. No longer are we under the power of spiritual rulers and authorities. We can see the difference between truth and lies. In EPH 6: 10-18, we take on the true armor of God, which equips us to make wise choices in our attitudes and behavior.
Does all of this make believers in Christ immune to sin or perfect? Absolutely not! We are still humans with weaknesses and imperfections. However, when we choose to approach God first, we have what is needed to avoid sinning and save ourselves from terrible predicaments. Does this mean that we are free to do anything we want? Of course not! We need to know and follow the wise advice our Lord gives us. It’s a choice to put Him first that we need to make. It isn’t always easy, but it does bless us in the end when we do this. COL 2: 19b, “Under Christ’s control the whole body is nourished and held together by its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God wants it to grow.”
PRAYER: O Lord, what a grand and glorious gift You give us when we are imbued with faith in Your Son, Jesus, and are divinely circumcised in our hearts. This gives us impetus to learn Your word and to act on it in our lives. All too often, we back-peddle and forget to consult You first in times of decision or important crossroads in our lives. All too often, we rely on human resources rather than You. As we have read through COL 2, we begin to see that great blessing Your wisdom and following it gives us. As we pause to hover over key words and their meanings, we need to feel the urgency of their message. Our need is essential to not only understand and believe, but to share our new understanding with those who haven’t heard it. Your grace seems to be without boundaries, but our compliance is far from perfect. Only Your Son, Jesus Christ, is perfect. He has and will fulfill all the prophecies made about Him. With His Atonement on the cross, we, who believe in Him and confess our sins as we discover them, will be blessed beyond imagination and for eternity. There is nothing we desire more than to spend eternity in sweet fellowship with You. Help us to better comply with Your commands and to put You first in our lives. Help us to discover and confess our sins, even those most subtle. We thank and praise You forever, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: Our word studies continue in next week’s devotion. Join me in praying that our Lord will reveal more of the elementary building blocks that strengthen and compel us to share our faith. Being able to have insight concerning our fellow humans is not innate, but instead is learned behavior. As we gain God-generated wisdom, our discernment becomes stronger. By far, no believer, except Christ Himself, is perfect. However, we can learn to work around our weaknesses and to be open about them when approaching others about our faith. And yes, understanding the meaning Biblical authors were to convey helps a lot. One example is that when witnessing to our faith, we must consider our audience. If they are already believers in Christ, it’s okay to use words these insiders will understand. However, when speaking to mixed audiences or all non-believers, then we must be careful not to use church jargon or incendiary words. For example, when speaking to an audience of traditionally Jewish people, avoid the name, “Jesus Christ,” and substitute the words, “the Lord,” instead. We must learn to explain complicated and intangible concepts using words your audience will easily understand. God has taught me to end frequently asking thought-provoking questions, like “Wouldn’t you want these blessings for yourself too?” If possible, know where your audience is in their faith journey. This is called relational witnessing, and done in humility, it can be very effective. To witness well, we must always know the word of God well. Remember 2 TIM 3: 16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and useful in teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed.” Praise be to God!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2017. All Rights Reserved.
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